Grain-door for cars.



UNTTEE STATES rk'rnnr orrrcn.

GRAEN=DOGR FCR AFlS= Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 1907.

Application filed February 28, 1906. Serial No. 303,374.

following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to grain-doors such as are used on freight cars for preventing the leakage of grain in shipment.

The object of the invention is to produce a grain-door of simple construction which may be readily closed or opened and held out of the way so as to clear the doorway.

More specifically, the purpose of the invention isto produce a door which will be of very light construction, but which is admirably adapted. to support the pressure of the grain within the car. A

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, .to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Figure l is a cross-section through a grain car, taken in line with the doorways, one of the doors being represented as open as in removing tl? grain. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the middle portion of the. car and shoudng one of the grairrdoors in closed position. Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and representing the door in a closed position; and Fig.4;l8 a view siinilar'to Fig. 3, but representing the door in the act of being opener Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of the car, which maybe of any suitable construction provided witlr the usual doorways on each side closed by the usual slidin doors 2.- Referring now especially to Figs. 5 and 4, in applying iny grain-door to a car of this description I provide the side faces of the janibs 3 with vertical grooves 4, the side faces of the said grooves 4 being inclined for a purpose which will ap pear inore fully hereinafterj Upon. the floor 5 of the car lies a strip 6, which constitutes a sill adapted to be engaged by the lower edge of the door 7. This sill 6 is of curved form, as shown, its convex side being disposed towa d the central longitudinal axis of the car. The inner end of this sill alines substantially with the outer side of the grooves or slots 4, referred to above. The grain-door 7 is lower edge, as stated.

formed, preferably, of a single sheet of steel, which is curved so as to conform to the curvature of the sill 6, which it engages at its The side edges of the door 7 projectiuto the grooves 4, at which point the edges of the door are reinforced by vertical strips 8, preferably consisting of an gle-irons. .These angle-irons present outwardly-projecting'flanges 9, to which brackets 10 are attached, and to these brackets are attached pivotally the extremities of a link 11, which link is formed in sections 12 and 13, having their adjacent extremities threaded to receive a connecting-turnbuckle 14. These link-sections 12 and 13 are preferably V-shaped, presenting diverging arms or branches 12 and 13. It should be understood that the resiliency of the steel plate 7 tends to straighten the same into a less curved position than that which it is obliged to assume by reason of the link 11. For this reason. it will be understood that when the turnbuckle 14 is turned in the proper direction to draw in the link-sections 12 and 13 the side edges of the door will be withdrawn from the grooves l.

' Upon the rear side of the door guide brackets 15 are attached, and through these guidebraclrets pass loosely guide-bars 16 for the door. These guide bars extend upwardly to a point near the lintel 17 of the doorvmy. At this point they are formed with substantially horizontal forward extensions or necks 18, as indicated in Fig. 1. Beyond these necks they have upward extensions 19, which are bent laterally to form horizontal shanks 20, which pass under the lintel 17 and longitiulinally of the doorway, as shown. These shanks are received by hangers 2] which are substantially U shaped, the logs of the U being attached, respectively, to the forward and rear side of the lintel, as shown in Fig. .1. These hangers are preferably formed of bar-iron and form an elongated eye under the lintel, which re-- ceivcs the shank, as indicated. The extrennti s of each of the shanks 20 are preferably turned downwardly to forin'a retainingnib 22, which tends to prevent accidental removal of the shank.

On the inner side the roof I provide shackles 23, which hang downwardly and all'ord means for hanging the grain-(lotus in a substantially horizontal of: the car-body and near \h M M.

position and at an elevation within the'carbody, as indicated in Fig. 1. I provide two of these hooks, so that either of the doors may be hung up first. In order to facilitate the fastening of the doors in this manner, each door is provided on its inner face with a hook 24. When either of the doors is being hung in this manner, it will be understood that it will be swung inwardly into the interior of the car until it is raised into a substantially horizontal position, being supported on its upper edge by the guidebars 16. It will then be slid downwardly toward the extremities of the guide-bars and then inwardly, so as to enable its hook 24 to engage the shackle 23. 'If it is desired to hang up both doors, one door will behung first, as just described, and the other door will be swung inwardly, and this hookwill be applied to the turnbuckle of the door already hung. in Fig. 1 in dotted lines the door at the left is represented as supported on a turnbuckle on the other door in the manner just described.

To enable the graingloor to be pried up ,with a suitable instrument, such as a crowbar, I provide the lower edge thereof on the outer side with cleats 25, under the edge of raised.

which the crowbar may be inserted. In this way a suilicient quantity of grain may be allowed to escape so as to enable the door to be forced back toward the interior of the car and so as to hang the same therein in the manner described above. Before forcing the door inwardly in the manner just described the tdrnbuckle 14 will be rotated. in a proper direction, so as to draw the edges of the door inwardly, disengagingthemfrom the groove 14.

In order to prevent any danger of the grain-door becoming raised accidentally when the car. is in motion,.I provide a removable stop-pin 26, which is received 111 the amb of the door, as indicated in Fig. 2, ust above the upper edge of the grain-doom As indicated, this pin projects into the ath of the door and prevents the same rom being For convenience the pinis attached, by means of a suitable chain 27, to an adja cent point of the door.

Especial attention is called to the curved form of the grain-door. By reason of its curved form the door may be of 'very light construction, while at the same time it will be amply stron -and still enough to resist the pressure of the grain from within.

In order to still'en the door 7, attachbind ing-strips 7 at the upper and lower edges and at the middle thereof. 'lhese strr 's may be riveted to the door, as indicated, and they serve as stays, which assistin keeping the door in shapcand render it more springy.

Having thus described my invention, I claim new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A grain-door, consisting of a curved plate having means adapted to draw the edges thereof toward each other or force the same apart.

2. A grain-door, consisting of a flexible -plate having a link of adjustable length and attached substantially at the opposite edges thereof, whereby said edges may be drawn together or forced apart.

3. A grain-door consisting of a flexible plate having a link formed of sections attached near the vertical edges of said late, and a turnbuckle connecting said lin -sec extending said link.

4. A car having a doorway, a grain-door mounted in said" doorway and consisting of a. curved, flexible plate'havmg means for ex-' tending the same, said doorway having means at the jambs thereof for retaining the edges of said late. j

5. A car avin a doorway presenting j ambs with vertica grooves therein, in combination with a rain-door consisting of a curved, flexible plate the edges whereof are adapted to engage said grooves, and means for contracting or extending the width of said plate,

6. A car having a doorway presenting substantially vertical guide-grooves in the jambs thereof, a curved sill restin on the car-floor and having its convex side isposed between the central, longitudinal axis of the car,'a flexible plate constituting a door havin its lower edge normally resting against sai sill and having its'edges received in said grooves, and an adjustable link connecting said edges and affording meansfor drawing said edges inwardly or forcing the same apart.-

7. car presenting oppositely-disposed doorways, doors mounted 1n sai/d doorways and adapted to swing inwardly into the interior of said car, said doors consisting of curved plates having their convex faces disposed inwardly and having links connecting their vertical edges, and means for supportingone of said doors, when spru'n inwardly, from the roof of the car, the ot er of said doors having a hook adapted to engage the name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' minis scHREIBE'R.

Wi tncsses JAMES W. ORR, F. K. TUT'r'. 

